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“Getting a little more sugar sweetness and scent from a short second steep, but we’ll probably have to start from scratch to test time and temp differences. I’m not a frequent multiple...”
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“The liquor smells predominantly of black tea and something I can’t quite place (it’s a really prominent smell, however, and I’ll edit this once I figure out what it is). Almost...”
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“Wow, nutmeg! Dark brew, all three steeps. A natural sweetness. This does remind me of something you’d drink out of a snifter at the end of a nice dinner party.
When it comes to oolongs, so...”
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“This is a very dark, highly-oxidized oolong, very close to a black. There are notes of molasses, and a sweetness that is present through all infusions. Although not roasted, there is a certain...”
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From The Mountain Tea co

A 2011 North American Tea Championship winner, this rare, brandy oolong (what is brandy oolong?) is a must have in your tea chest.

You will be enraptured with notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, malt sugar, honey, and orange peel. We only picked the tenderest leaves of our prized oolong plants to create this exceptional tea; in doing so, we created a tea that is dark amber in color and sweet in flavor, sans astringency or bitterness.

Hotter water and longer steeping times will brew a more complex and spicier tea. Lower water temperature and shorter steeping times will brew a sweeter tea.

16 Tasting Notes

Getting a little more sugar sweetness and scent from a short second steep, but we’ll probably have to start from scratch to test time and temp differences. I’m not a frequent multiple steeper, but to my bumbling taste buds, once green or oolong tea has “set,” the second steep doesn’t seem to change it a great deal.

The liquor smells predominantly of black tea and something I can’t quite place (it’s a really prominent smell, however, and I’ll edit this once I figure out what it is). Almost chocolate or coffee…but not quite. As it cools, it smells much more like a rich black tea. The liquor is a reddish amber, almost greenish on the edges. The flavor struck me as rather two-dimensional. It’s not a really simple flavor, but it definitely doesn’t seem particularly nuanced to me with this steeping. It tastes almost the same as sit smells, with more of a nearly-pine flavor, but in a not-quite-smoky way. I’ve seen it described as creamy or other such adjectives, and while I get that, it seems more sweet, but in a way that you might imagine old wood to be. At first, I cared for neither the odor of the dry leaves, nor for that of the liquor. I felt it tasted really…not off, but not really in a direction that I like my tea to go. As I sip it, however, it starts to seem much more drinkable. I think I’ll definitely enjoy what I have, but would choose something else in the future. Certainly an interesting tea, though.

This is a very dark, highly-oxidized oolong, very close to a black. There are notes of molasses, and a sweetness that is present through all infusions. Although not roasted, there is a certain “roastedness” to it.

First infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz water, 90 deg., 1:30 min.

Second infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 2:30 min.

Third infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 4 min.

Fourth infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 7 min.

Fifth infusion – 3 g. per 6 oz. water, 90 deg., 10+ min.

Preparation

Brandy oolong is oxidized at around 90%, and the leaves are picked in summer. As a result, the flavor is deeper and more pronounced. This particular tea received recognition at the North American Tea Championship.

The hard, dry leaves were individually rolled irregularly into small green “pearls,” and are uniformly dark green in color. The unsteeped aroma is a predictably vegetal. The tea itself is not unlike a smoky Yunnan black, with a small amount of sweetness on the finish. Very flavorful – ideal as a breakfast waker-upper.

Preparation

I have a friend who knows what he likes. Most of the tea I give him, he kind of screws up his face and nods carefully and is like, “Yeah, that’s alright.” But if you give him an assam, or some Yunnan black, every time, he sighs and sits back and says, “Yeah, that’s really nice.”

He’d like this tea.

I’ve never had anything in the rolled oolong space that’s this close to the yunnan black thing: that particular malty-sweet-subtle sour thing. On the first taste, you might mistake it for an extra-roasty, extra-hearty yunnan black. But then this other, dongding weirdness comes through underneath – some weird fat spinachy-stemmy fuzzy sour-junk. It’s weird. Is this a traditional tea type? Some part of me suspects that this has been pushed to meet a certain taste in the Western market for big, malty, roasty teas, and it sits weirdly with that spinach bottom. But I’m probably wrong. I’m sure it’s utterly traditional or something.

Wife. Pregnant. Demands for liver. A journey which ends up with 2 pounds of pork liver and fresh pork liver pate. For dinner. And then for breakfast. And tea. My pee smells like pork liver. And this tea really likes the dank salty pork liver.

Wow. That’s a super-specific craving. After I had my wisdom teeth out, I wanted a buffalo chicken sandwich so much that I was willing to put it in a blender and drink it through a straw, so I guess I can’t really judge.

I like this one a lot, and makes me feel relieved in terms of budget. I was actually recommended this one as a bagged, and based on the descriptions of caramel, I had to try it.

First time, I tried to do it Gongfu, but wound up Western on accident. I definitely got something like a spicier yet lighter black tea, but the more subtle notes like caramel were overwhelmed after two minutes. There were even seaweed notes that were kinda good, but something I have to be in the mood for. It got sweeter in the later steeps with something that reminded me of a cooked cherry, but not entirely.

Finally got to do it Gongfu tonight, with a ten second rinse at 195 degrees, using six grams in six ounces. The first rinse had a taste that replicates rose water. This tea is VERY close to a Laoshan black because it has the same type of rosy, cooked fruit character. Laoshan’s are one of my favorites, and in comparison, this one is a lighter brother or cousin that does not have the robust malt or chocolate of a black. It also doesn’t have the same dehydrating effect that a black does.

Steep two, 30 seconds, and still very rosy with a faded molasses bitter sweetness. Steep three, a full minute, and darker, redder, and something closer to a black tea. Four at two minutes, and something like a cherry black, but lighter. Five at three, and cooked cherry.

I really liked this one, but it is a toss up. When I’m in the mood for it, I would probably rate this one a 90; when I’m not, an 80. I still need to figure out better steeping parameters for this one. It was sweet, but not as sweet as I was expecting. I didn’t get the full caramel or honey like described, so I’ll be back on this one pretty soon.

Flavors: Cherry, Molasses, Roasted, Rose, Salt, Seaweed, Smooth

Preparation

This is an extremely dark, smooth, oolong that’s rather unlike what I think of when I think of an oolong; the malty notes are reminiscent of a good Assam accompanied by a thick honey taste that’s oh-so-delicious. This is a perfect after-dinner treat (try it with red bean cakes, it’s great).

Preparation

I’m really in love with this tea. If you weren’t told it was an oolong, you would never guess. It kind of reminds me of a Yunnan Gold/Red.

If you brew hotter and longer, you get more spice. But I brewed about 185 in gaiwan, short steeps. Then I slowly increased time and temp with every 4 or 5 steeps.

The liquor is just gorgeous, especially once the leaves open up. The scent of the wet leaves is just intoxicating. Get a lot of prune, malt, honey, and hint of spice, like a cinnamon.

Flavor is great, really rich and luxurious. There’s a sweetness to it, but little kick of spice as well. It peaked for me about steep 4 or 5 in 100ml gaiwan. But I still got about 12 solid steeps from it. After the 5th or so, it becomes more one note, sometimes more honey, sometimes more spice.

Just a great tea. Real high quality leaves. Very happy, and great price. I’ve paid a lot more for much less.